Rainbow (AKA Baby)

Update 19 Nov 2012:
It is with a heavy heart that I write of the circumstances of Baby's death. Yesterday was one of the worst days I have had in a long, long time. The shelter director had to be rushed to hospital in an ambulance so us volunteers continued to take care of the shelter - feeding, watering etc. I went to check on Baby in Mr Park's house. She wagged her tail at me but didn't get up. She was panting and I could tell immediately that she was in labour. She was warm and comfortable there, but we worried about how long she would be left if Mr Park was hospitalised for days.

I made a call to my vet's office but the language barrier was insurmountable. Then I called an ex-vet tech who volunteers at the shelter and she gave me some great advice. We decided the best thing to do was to move her quickly and calmly to my house where I would foster her and her puppies. I drove home and spoke with her he whole time. I could see her looking at me through the bars of the crate. At one stage she shifted position but other than that she just lay there, panting, looking as though she was very ready for the pups to come. She didn't seem to be in too much discomfort other than what the contractions must have felt like. Finally we reached our destination. I took her into my house, set the crate down and opened it to check on her. That was when I realised she was no longer breathing. She had passed away only minutes before. I tried to do CPR on her but it didn't work. She was gone.

I put her into my sling bag and ran to the vet, knowing that my vet wasn't there but hoping the nurses and the vet intern would help. He did a sonar on Baby's stomach and saw that the heart beats of the babies were incredibly slow. He said that even if we take them out, they wouldn't survive. We made the decision to leave sweet Baby intact. I returned her lifeless body back to the shelter, where the Daejeon City Pound collected her the next day. Mr Park was doing a tremendous job with her and was as devastated as I at the loss of such a sweet girl. Yesterday was a series of unfortunate events that ended in sorrow. I'm not sure yet, but I think her having heartworm might have been the cause of death.

To Baby: I am so sorry that I let you die. You deserved so much more than that in life you sweet, precious little darling.
To the person who: 1) allowed her to get heartworm, 2) didn't have her spayed and then allowed her to get pregnant & 3) abandoned her with a note taped to her back. I hate you. I hope you live with the regret of your choice every single day of your life. I hope you never, ever own another animal in your lifetime.

Update 12 Nov 2012:
I have changed Rainbow's status to unavailable for now. Mr Park has her settled in his nice, warm house and he is all set and ready for her to have her pups there! He will be constantly around to monitor her and them and as soon as they arrive I will post lots of pics! Once the pups are in the world, we will start working on profiles for them and for their mom.
Poor Rainbow also has heartworm, so she will need to be treated after she has had her pups and the vet deems her fit to receive treatment. Poor girl - what a classic example of people who should not be allowed to own animals. They didn't give her the inexpensive heartworm prevention, didn't bother to spay her and abandoned her when she fell pregnant. >.<
Luckily for her, things will only get better from here! Please keep her in your thoughts as she embarks on this tough journey!

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URGENTLY SEEKING FOSTER HOME FOR THIS LITTLE LADY TO GIVE BIRTH IN!!

Yup, you read correctly. This little girl was abandoned at the shelter, pregnant and with a sign TAPED to her BACK. The details given were something to the effect of:

"Please take care of her. Name is Baby. I raised her for 4 years. Pregnant. Something came up and I have to move to a different town."

We've changed her name to "Rainbow" as we feel it signifies beauty and hope at the end of even the roughest storm. We want this little girl to find her pot of gold, so to speak.

She is due to give birth in a week. Please open your home and hearts and help to welcome her babies into a warm and safe environment.

If you are willing to foster her, please complete the application form at http://www.animalrescuekorea.org/adoption-application and e-mail it to me: [email protected].